New partnership to improve child and adolescent health in the Asia-Pacific

New $10 Million Partnership to Improve Child and Adolescent Health in the Asia-Pacific

The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) is excited to announce its new initiative to strengthen child and adolescent health across the Asia-Pacific. Under the Partnerships for a Healthy Region Initiative, the Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has awarded MCRI a $10 million strategic grant to establish the ReALiSE program – the Regional Alliance for Learning in Systems for Equitable Child and Adolescent Health.

This three-year program aims to strengthen resilience in public health systems and engage with youth leaders and local communities to improve the health and wellbeing of young people in 12 countries.

Our Focus: Preventing Non-Communicable Diseases in Adolescents

As part of the ReALiSE initiative, our project is dedicated to defining key adolescent NCD risks and communicating evidence-based actions to prevent adolescent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Indonesia and Fiji. Adolescence is a critical period for establishing healthy behaviors, and our work will:

  • Identify the most significant NCD risks among adolescents.
  • Map existing policies and programs addressing these risks.
  • Synthesize evidence to recommend targeted actions for prevention.

This project will not only inform policy and programming in Indonesia and Fiji but will also provide a model for effective NCD prevention strategies across the region and beyond.

ReALiSE Program Objectives

The ReALiSE program, in collaboration with 26 local organizations, will tackle some of the most pressing health challenges in the Asia-Pacific, including:

  • Strengthening local health systems data to improve care and the use of oxygen as an essential medicine in Cambodia, Lao PDR and Papua New Guinea
  • Improving public health control of neglected tropical diseases, such as scabies, in Fiji, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu
  • Engaging young leaders to strengthen evidence-based policy for adolescent health in Fiji and Indonesia
  • Strengthening communicable disease surveillance and evidence for regional investment in vaccines in Fiji, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
  • Engaging young people, families and communities to improve vaccine uptake in Indonesia and the Philippines
Dr Lucas de Toca, Australia’s Ambassador for Global Health, signing the agreement with MCRI Director Professor Kathryn North AC alongside the MCRI Global Health team.

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